Vehicle traffic and vehicle related transaction control system

ABSTRACT

A location enabled mobile wireless device and central system cooperate to provide traffic control such as vehicle inspection site services and toll station services. Traffic control information such as vehicle inspection site information and toll station information is independently processed by a third party provider and sent to the central system. The mobile wireless device monitors its location and sends location and vehicle related information to the central system. The central system compares data from the third party provider and the mobile wireless device. The mobile wireless device or the central system take an action based on the comparison, such as toll payment or vehicle inspection site operations.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C §119(e) of U.S.Provisional No. 61/450,055 filed Mar. 7, 2011.

FIELD

Vehicle Traffic and Vehicle Related Transaction Control

BACKGROUND

As vehicle traffic increases in volume, public and private roadoperators seek methods and systems for regulating vehicle traffic thatallows them to cost effectively monitor, screen and toll vehiclestravelling on public roads. An example of a roadside screening system isdisclosed in the patent application titled Thermal Inspection System,U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0028846, published Feb. 7, 2008. Withthe popularity of GPS enabled smart phones, others have proposedenabling transactions based on a smart phone detecting that the smartphone is within a predefined geographic area (geofence). The currentinvention provides improvements in systems providing control, screeningand tolling of traffic flow using GPS enabled smart phones.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, a location enabled mobile wireless device and centralsystem cooperate to provide traffic control such as vehicle inspectionsite services and toll station services. Traffic control informationsuch as vehicle inspection site information and toll station informationis independently processed by a third party provider and sent to thecentral system. The mobile wireless device monitors its location andsends location and vehicle related information to the central system.The central system compares data from the third party provider and themobile wireless device. The mobile wireless device or the central systemtake an action based on the comparison, such as toll payment or vehicleinspection site operations.

There is disclosed a method of vehicle traffic control using a centralprocessing system connected to a telecommunications network, the methodcomprising receiving a first dataset from a mobile wireless device uponthe mobile wireless device entering a pre-defined geographic area,comparing at least a portion of the first dataset with a second datasetfrom a third party provider; and taking one or more actions based on thecomparing step.

There is also provided a method of vehicle traffic control using acentral processing system connected to a telecommunications network, themethod comprising receiving from a mobile wireless device, upon themobile wireless device entering a geographic area, location dataobtained by monitoring the location of the mobile wireless device,generating an ID code and sending it to the mobile wireless device,receiving, at an electronic device located at a toll gate, the generatedID code; and in response to receiving the generated ID code at theelectronic device, opening the toll gate.

There is also provided a method of vehicle movement control, comprisingwhile a mobile wireless device is being carried in a moving vehicle,periodically obtaining a location of the mobile wireless device,comparing the location to a set of stored geographic areas, when thelocation of the mobile wireless device is within any one of the set ofgeographic areas, communicating vehicle related information and vehiclelocation information to a central processing system, receiving at themobile wireless device a message from the central processing system andtaking an action based on the message.

There is also provided a method of vehicle movement control, comprisingwhile a mobile wireless device is being carried in a moving vehicle,periodically obtaining a location of the mobile wireless device;comparing the location to a set of stored geographic areas; and when thelocation of the mobile wireless device is approaching any one of the setof geographic areas, generating a warning signal for a user of thevehicle.

There is also provided a method of controlling a transaction relatedprocess, the method comprising initiating automated notification of atransaction, where the automated notification takes place from time totime without participation of a user based upon a rule, using acomputing device to send a transaction notification to the user when therule is activated, the computing device being set to carry out or notcarry out the transaction according to a default setting of thecomputing device, and enabling the computing device to change thedefault setting upon a user input to the computing device.

There is also provided a central processing system for connecting to atelecommunications network, the telecommunications network also capableof being connected to at least a mobile device, the at least a mobiledevice being configurable to transmit to the central processing system,upon the mobile device entering a pre-defined geographic area, a firstdataset; the central processing system comprising a server connected tothe telecommunications network to receive the first dataset from themobile device and a second dataset from a third party provider; and thecentral processing system being configured to carry out any one or moreof the disclosed methods carried out by the central processing system.

There is also disclosed a mobile wireless device for being carried in amoving vehicle and communicating with a central processing system, themobile wireless device having access to a set of stored geographicareas, the mobile wireless device being configured to carry out anyoneor more of the disclosed methods carried out by the mobile wirelessdevice.

In various embodiments, the methods may include or the devicesconfigured by installation of suitable software to carry out any one ormore of the following steps: taking one or more actions includesinitiating a toll payment to a toll service provider; taking one or moreactions comprises associating data received from the mobile wirelessdevice and from a third party provider at the central system; thecentral processing system using the vehicle location data to estimate atoll charge related to the presence of the vehicle at the toll locationand deducting the toll charge from an account related to the mobilewireless device; taking one or more actions comprises comparing the tollcharge to the toll payment and adjusting the users account when the tollcharge differs from the toll payment; taking one or more actionsincludes sending a signal to the mobile wireless device indicative ofwhether the vehicle is permitted to bypass the vehicle inspection site;taking one or more actions comprises sending a notification to a lawenforcement service; taking one or more actions comprises initiating atoll payment; uploading to the mobile wireless device a set ofinstructions for periodically obtaining a location of the mobilewireless device and comparing the location to a set of stored geographicareas; taking one or more actions includes recording an associationbetween a vehicle and data produced by one or more sensors at a roadsidesensor location; an association between a vehicle and data produced byone or more sensors at a roadside sensor location is recorded dependingon the lack of detection of a vehicle in a second lane by one or moreadditional sensors; an association between a vehicle and a set of dataproduced by one or more sensors at a roadside sensor location isrecorded depending at least in part on the record of the strength of aradio identification signal; taking one or more actions includes openinga toll gate; taking an action comprises forwarding parking directions tothe mobile wireless device; taking an action comprises sending trafficrelated information to the mobile wireless device; the centralprocessing system initiating a toll payment to a toll payment serviceprovider when an ID code is generated; taking an action comprises thevehicle bypassing a vehicle inspection site; taking an action comprisesthe mobile wireless device sending a toll cancel or payment request tothe central processing system; and the central system sending a messagecomprising information on a traffic related problem.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

There will now be described embodiments of a vehicle traffic controlsystem, with reference to the figures by way of example, in which:

FIG. 1 is a network diagram showing a vehicle traffic control system;

FIG. 1A shows applications that may reside on a mobile wireless deviceshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 1B shows applications that may reside on a central system shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 2 illustrates basic steps in a vehicle control method;

FIG. 3 illustrates basic steps in operation of a mobile wireless device;

FIG. 4 shows basic steps in an autopay transaction cancellation;

FIG. 5 shows an example of a vehicle inspection site; and

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate toll location geofences.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a system for providing vehicletraffic control through location based transaction services. Thedescription here is of exemplary embodiments. Immaterial modificationsmay be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from what isclaimed.

The system comprises a central processing system 10 that uses one ormore servers and related peripherals for connecting the server(s) to atelecommunications network such as the internet 12. The system iseffected by configuration of the central processing system 10 usingsoftware that contains instructions for the servers to carry out thedisclosed method steps. The servers need not be collocated and mayreside in multiple servers (commonly referred to as the cloud) operatedby a different party from the system operator. The servers may beaccessed by a system operator through conventional input devices such asa keyboard or touch screen, and may be accessed through a conventionalbrowser operating on a server, such as a local server 14 or throughother software, such as dedicated software, operating on a server, suchas a local server 14. The local server used by the system operator maybe located anywhere in the world. The system 10 may also reside entirelyor partly on the local server 14.

The communications channels shown in FIG. 1 by lines connecting thesystem elements may all be conventional communication channels. Examplesof conventional communications channels include wireless links, opticallinks or wired links. The system may be implemented by loading softwareinto the system elements and thus configuring the system elements asdisclosed in this patent document to interact with each other in a novelmanner. The implementation of the software enables a uniquely configuredrelationship between the system elements. Communications between thecentral system 10 and mobile wireless device 16 and between the centralsystem 10 and a third party provider 24 preferably is a web basedservice using internet protocol. In a web based service, a serverseeking to use the service opens a port on the server and sends messageswith a web address or URL into the network which is relayed through thenetwork as packets that are combined and delivered to the specified URLon the destination server. As such, the communication channels need notbe dedicated channels but may use multiple links in a telecommunicationsnetwork. The web service may be one suitable for operation on thecurrent internet or such equivalents and replacements that aredeveloped.

The central system 10 interacts with a location enabled mobile wirelessdevice 16, such as a GPS enabled smart phone. Location enabled refers tothe ability of the mobile wireless device 16 to determine its locationby reference to a GPS system 18 or other wireless sources 20. The mobilewireless device 16 also incorporates a processor capable of beingprogrammed to monitor the location of the device and determine when thedevice has entered a specific geographic area or fixed spatial location(geofence) such as an inspection site, for example a vehicle screeningarea or weigh station, or toll location. A toll location includes a tollroad, a toll lane 92 on a roadway 90 (FIG. 6A) and a toll station 94 ona roadway 96 (FIG. 6B), depending on how tolls are collected on aparticular road. The system 10 may work with a variety of toll systemsincluding open road tolling systems where vehicles using a road areimaged and the image used to process a toll. An inspection site forvehicles includes any site where law enforcement agencies carry outinspection of vehicles. A weigh station is an example of a vehicleinspection site.

The processor of the mobile wireless device 16 should be sufficientlypowerful to process the instructions disclosed in this patent document,which is the case with most commercially available smart phones. Themobile wireless device 16 is normally expected to be carried by a systemuser such as a personal vehicle or commercial vehicle 22. However, themobile wireless device 16 may also be a wireless computing deviceintegrated with the vehicle, including a device integrated with vehicleelectronics and power systems, and is mobile in the sense that it movesaround with the vehicle. The mobile wireless device 16 may also be apersonal computing device that may be carried by a person.

The central system 10 may use a web service to connect to one or morethird party service providers 24. The third party service providers maybe for example governments or private toll operators, vehicle screeningservice providers or operators of roadside weigh stations.

Referring to FIG. 2, in a basic operation of the disclosed system 10,the system 10 receives a first dataset from the mobile wireless device16 upon the mobile wireless device 16 entering a geographic are such asa vehicle screening area or toll station, compares at least a portion ofthe first dataset with a second dataset from a third party provider 24and then takes an action based on the comparison. The first dataset maycomprise vehicle related information and location data. The datasets maytake various forms such as the content of messages or contents of afile, but when embodied in the mobile wireless device 16, or on serversoperated by a third party service provider 24 or in the central system10, the dataset will have a physical manifestation as a file saved inpersistent form in a memory. A particular memory is not shown in theFigures, but may reside on any server or form of electronic storage, andmay be saved in the cloud. The second dataset may obtained by the system10 using a web service to communicate with the third party serviceprovider 24 and downloading a file containing vehicle relatedinformation or rule based data related to the movement of vehicles alongroads or both. Examples of rule based data related to the movement ofvehicles along roads are safety rules and toll payment tables. Safetyrules may determine whether a vehicle should be required to stop, andtoll tables may determine the toll amount required to permit a vehicleto travel on a road. The downloading may take place at the same time asor after the vehicle 22 is at the geographic area. Depending on theapplication, a part of the downloading may occur before the vehicle 22is at the geographic area. The downloading may take the form of thesending of a message through a web service. Vehicle related informationmay be the presence of the vehicle at the geographic area, and the filemay include other information relating to the user or the vehicle. Theoperation of this step is shown in FIG. 2, where step 30 shows thevehicle at the geographic area (enters the geofence), step 32 shows thethird party detects the presence of the vehicle and, in step 34, sends amessage to the central system. In the case of downloading occurring atthe same time as the vehicle 22 is at a toll location, the system 10 mayuse a web service to create an open live link between the third partyservice provider 24.

When the vehicle enters the geofence at step 30, mobile wireless device16, which has been monitoring the vehicle location, detects the entry ofthe vehicle 22 into the geofence and sends, at step 36, a message to thecentral system 10 that contains the first dataset. In step 38, thecentral system 10 receives the first dataset from the mobile wirelessdevice 16. The central system 16 may acquire the first dataset using aweb service to download from the location enabled mobile wireless device16 carried by the user or vehicle 22 to the central processing system 10a second file containing vehicle location data obtained by monitoringvehicle location with the location enabled mobile wireless device 16.The vehicle location data may be any form of data that identifies thepresence of the mobile wireless device 16 at the geofence locationincluding coded or encrypted data. If the geofence location is coded orencrypted, the downloading of the file need only take the form of anentry in a field in a message from the mobile wireless device 16 to thecentral system 10 that codes for the geographic area. The geofencelocation may be a weigh station geofence 76 (FIG. 5) or toll locationgeofence 98 or 99 (FIGS. 6A and 6B), for example.

In step 40, the central system 10 compares the contents of the twodownloaded files or received messages, and in step 42 the central systemtakes an action based on the comparing step 40. Examples of portions ofthe dataset sent from the mobile wireless device 16 used in thecomparison step include the vehicle location data (which geofence thevehicle entered) and the vehicle related information, such as an accountnumber. Comparing may take the form of checking that the dataset fromthe third party provider is related at least to the vehicle, thespecific geofence or both. In some embodiments, the compared datasetsmay be associated with one another depending on the result of thecomparing step. Associating may comprise linking two datasets, as forexample if one refers to the other or both refer to each other or thedatasets contain a common linking element. In some embodiments, thecomparing may comprise both comparing and linking datasets. In the caseof a weigh station, taking an action may comprise sending a signal tothe mobile wireless device indicative of whether the vehicle ispermitted to bypass the weigh station (red light or green light forexample). The system may also use a second geofence near the weighstation but further down the road in the direction of traffic todetermine whether the vehicle has complied with the bypass signal.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the system provides a location-basedtransaction system in which location of the mobile wireless device isthe primary reference point for initiating system processes.Transactions are determined by location and bounded by systemconfiguration. Individual transactions are pre-defined by the terms ofservice (system configuration) agreed to between service providers 24(government agency, toll operator, commercial/retail entity) and systemusers 22 (truck drivers, vehicle drivers). The location-basedtransaction system 10 acts as an intermediary between service providers24 and service users 22; and thus provides transaction capability. Thelocation-based system replaces traditional transaction point equipment(roadside devices like dedicated short range communication devices orpoint of sale equipment like toll booths). The system is a platform tofacilitate automated transactions between parties (for instance betweengovernment and truck drivers/between toll road operator and vehicledrivers). The transaction-system may also be the service provider.Service users 22 agree to utilize their GPS enabled mobile wirelessdevices (or trackable mobile phones) 16 to access third partylocation-based services via the location-based transaction system 10.Mobile wireless device users 22 agree to automate transactions withservice providers 22 based solely on the location of the mobile wirelessdevice 16. For example, triggering of vehicle movement into a geofencemay initiate a weigh station bypass service or toll road paymentservice, but this only happens when service user agrees to use thoseservices. The transaction authorization may be automated or requiremanual confirmation by the mobile wireless device user (automated weighstation bypass request or manual request/automated toll charging or userconfirmed charging).

The location-based transaction system 10 may be configured to providemultiple location-based services such as weigh station bypass serviceand virtual toll booth service. Weigh station bypass service utilizesgeofences set up on the approach lanes to a weigh station. User accountinfo is passed to the service provider (government inspection services)and the service provider returns a transaction record (indicating bypassresponse). Toll road payment service may uses geofences set up on theentrance and exit ramps of a toll road. Service provider (toll road)would provide a virtual point-of-sale (POS) receipt.

When a mobile wireless device 16 enters a geofence, an applicationresiding on the mobile wireless device 16 generates a GPS event with atransaction ID. The GPS event is represented by a dataset that is storedon the mobile wireless device 16 and sent, for example through awireless web service, to the central system 10. The data set definesboth the fact that the vehicle is at a specific geofence and whichvehicle is associated with the mobile wireless device 16, at least viaan account number.

The mobile wireless device may be any wireless device that is portable,such as a smart phone (iPhone, Blackberry, etc) and has the capacity forwireless connectivity within a network. The mobile wireless device andits respective network or networks form the backbone on which messagesare sent. Any suitable protocol may be used for the messages. Mobilewireless device 16 may retrieve location data from GPS satellites or viacellular tower triangulation.

As illustrated in FIG. 1A, method steps carried out by the mobilewireless device 16 are controlled by a mobile application 16A(DRIVEWYZE™) that resides on the mobile wireless device along with abrowser 16B and geofence application 16C. The mobile application 16A maycall all functions of the mobile wireless device 16 such ascommunication software. As illustrated in FIG. 1B, method steps carriedout by the central system 10 are controlled by a correspondingDRIVEWYZE™ application 10A, and the central system may include a browser10B and other conventional software, as well as a database 10C that mayinclude any of the datasets or databases referred to in this disclosure.The database 10C may also reside elsewhere on other servers and may becalled when needed by the browser 10B or DRIVEWYZE™ application 10A. Theapplication on the mobile wireless device 16 allows user to logon tocentral system under unique user account.

A user 22 has a corresponding User account that contains data such asvehicle, account holder or related information such as USDOT Number,License Plate Number, Vehicle VIN, Commercial Driver's License Number,GPS data, and electronic logs. Each user account has sufficientinformation to identify the vehicle. At set up, this information isprovided to the service provider (central service 10) and the centralservice 10 generates a unique account ID that is preferably meaninglessto a third party in relation to the vehicle and the user, but uniquelyidentifies the account and the associated vehicle. The account ID itselfcomprises vehicle related information since it is intended to be usedwith a specific vehicle. Such an ID could be generated from a list.

The user 22 chooses when to turn the mobile application on. Normally,the user will turn on the mobile application at the beginning of a tripand keeps it on throughout the trip. The mobile wireless device 16 actsautonomously from the central service 10 and connect to the centralservice 10 when directed by the mobile application.

Once a user is logged on to the central service, the mobile wirelessdevice 16 and user account are associated in the central system 10through the unique account ID.

In a weigh station application, the mobile wireless device 16 willnormally belong to the driver or vehicle owner and be carried by thedriver in the vehicle. In a toll application, the mobile wireless device16 may belong to anyone in the vehicle who is to pay the toll. Nophysical connection between the mobile wireless device 16, or user orvehicle 22 is required.

In an embodiment, the mobile application contains a geofence database.When a mobile wireless device 16 enters ageofence, the mobileapplication initiates a data request/reply transaction with the centralsystem 10. A geofence is a set of stored (pre-defined) geographiccoordinates, which may be longitude and latitude that define geographicareas. Referring to FIG. 3, each geofence works together with a set ofinstructions embodied within the mobile application that cause themobile wireless device to (1) periodically find its geographic locationeither by the mobile wireless device's own GPS device or bytriangulation with local cell towers (step 44), (2) compare thedetermined geographic location with the geographic areas (step 46), and(3) initiate a service request (step 48) when the mobile wireless deviceis within a specific geographic area. The mobile wireless device 16continues monitoring location when the mobile wireless device 16(symbolized by the return path in FIG. 3).

The geographic areas may be areas 76 and 78 (FIG. 5) near or around aweigh station or a toll station. The mobile wireless device may beenabled with toll station geofences, weigh station geofences or both.Each geographic area that forms part of a geofence is preferablyuniquely associated with a geofence ID that is stored on the mobilewireless device. The geofence ID comprises vehicle location information,although other ways may be used to identify vehicle location. Uponprocessing of the message from the mobile wireless device 16 at thecentral service 10, the central service 10 replies to the mobilewireless device 16, and upon receiving the reply (step 50), the mobilewireless device 16 or user 22 takes an action (step 52).

Various geofence types may be used. The geofence type may be stored inthe geofence database along with an indicator of the type. One exampleis a wake up geofence, for example 2 miles before weigh station. At thewake up geofence, the mobile application checks for wireless coverageand notifies the driver (wake up message, which could be an audible,tangible or visible message) of the approaching weigh station.

Another example of a geofence is a bypass location, for example one milebefore a weigh station. At the bypass location, a bypass decisiontransaction occurs in which the mobile application instructs the mobilewireless device to notify the central service to make a decision onbypass or report to the weigh station. The central service, upon receiptof the bypass decision request from the mobile wireless device, makes adetermination on bypass or not, then notifies the mobile wireless deviceof the decision.

A further example of a type of geofence is a compliance geofence 78(FIG. 5), situated possibly on the ramp of a weigh station 80 (FIG. 5),if location accuracy is good enough, or beyond the weigh station 80. Atthe compliance geofence 78, a message is initiated by the mobileapplication and sent by the mobile wireless device 16 to the centralserver 10 that the mobile wireless device 16 has entered the compliancegeofence. A determination is then made, for example on vehicle transittime between the bypass geofence and compliance geofence as to whetherthe vehicle 22 complied with the bypass decision.

A further type of geofence is a change of jurisdiction geofence, forexample at a state boundary that is used to notify the central serverthat the mobile wireless device has changed jurisdictions. Upon receiptof a notification of a change of jurisdiction from the mobile wirelessdevice, the geofences stored on the mobile wireless device may beupdated.

The mobile unit does not need to be wirelessly connected to the centralservice until a geofence triggered service request data transmissionbegins. The mobile application sends a service request data transmissionto central system. The request contains at least a user account ID(associated with a user/vehicle) and a geofence ID.

The central system receives the service request data transmission andprocesses the user account information (associated with user ID/vehicleID/associated data/account information). The central service need onlybe sent the user account ID and Geofence ID. The central systemprocesses the geofence ID to determine service request type. The servicerequest type doesn't necessarily have to reside in the central systembut may be included in the service request data transmission or beprovided by some third party system.

The central system 10 then processes the service request as per accountID/geofence ID information and sends a service reply data transmissionback to the mobile wireless device 16. In the case of weigh stationbypass, the reply would be either a bypass or report to weigh stationmessage. In the case of a toll road, it would be a payment ortransaction confirmation. Factors (safety rules) that determine whetherthe reply is a bypass or a report to weigh station message may be set bythe service provider and may include whether the vehicle has recentlybeen weighed (for example within a few hours), the overall compliancerecord of the vehicle and the weight of the vehicle at the most recentweighing of the vehicle. Other factors include safety issues, safetycredentials, tax status, insurance verification, state registrationinformation and NCIC related alerts. Security agencies may specify theirsecurity and safety requirements. In some cases, the security agency mayspecify all vehicles must report. Remote surveillance devices mightindicate whether a vehicle has safety issues or is driving erratically,and the output from these devices may be used to decide whether thevehicle should bypass or report.

When the mobile wireless device 16 triggers a GPS event by entering ageofence, a transaction file is created, stored in the mobile wirelessdevice 16 in suitable persistent memory or even in the cloud, and sentas a dataset to the central service 10. The transaction file may includeinformation such as when the vehicle 22 enters the geofence, when itleaves the geofence, how long it remains in the geofence in the form offor example multiple time stamps. The central system 10 receives thetransaction file (dataset) and looks up rules and other stored data todetermine the action to be taken. The rules and data may include avariety of rules and data stored at the central system or elsewhere suchas in the cloud, and may be in part obtained from a law enforcementsystem, such as a weigh station. Examples of rules and data includewhether the vehicle has stopped recently at a weigh station, and thecorresponding rule may be to allow bypass if the vehicle stopped at aweigh station within a given period of time, or in the same journey. Thedata may therefore be specific to the vehicle or from a third partyoperator, such as cost tables. Obtaining the dataset with data and rulesused to determine an action to be taken may be carried out live in realtime, or before or after the GPS event occurred. The dataset may bepartly obtained from data at the central service 10 and partly from datafrom a third party provider. The associating takes the form of a dataassociation process where the dataset from the mobile wireless device 16is associated with the dataset obtained from a third party provider 24.The associated data may be combined and stored in a file. Thus forexample in a weigh station application, when the first dataset isreceived from the mobile wireless device 16, and a corresponding weightin a second dataset is obtained from a weigh station 24, the actiontaken may be the central system 16 appending vehicle weight to a vehiclerecord along with an indication of where the vehicle weight was taken.

Individual geofences can be managed by the central system or by manualor automated input by users on the mobile wireless device. Automatedgeofence management may include the creation of a ‘congestion start’geofence determined by the mobile application as a result of theapplication's monitoring of speed and location. A manual geofencecreation could be the manual entry of a geotag by a user to indicate‘bad weather’ on the road.

Service Type includes but is not limited to weigh station bypass(virtual bypass application) and compliance service, toll road relatedtransactions (virtual toll both application), system, user, private orcommercial notifications, transportation related notices like congestionahead, and bad weather.

The system preferably take advantage of technology convergence on themobile wireless device (like GPS, GSM, Data, WIFI, Bluetooth, NFC,WIMAX) and information systems connectivity in the cloud to deliver anon-anticipated service to automate transactions previously requiringthe physical interaction of systems. This system preferably useslocation-based services and data associations (user/vehicle/accountinfo) to synthesize a virtual transaction absent of a physicalinteraction initiating a process between parties. The mobile wirelessdevice need not be physically connected to the user and vehicle andaccount info. The basis of the service is not the mobile wireless deviceitself. It is between the driver/vehicle and the service provider.

Characteristics of embodiments of the disclosed methods and relatedsystems include the mobile wireless devices 16 and a central system 10,a mobile application residing on the mobile wireless device 16 thatmonitors for example GPS location of device, the central system 10 doesnot actually track the mobile wireless devices 16, the devices 16themselves are self-monitoring for location-based processing, the mobilewireless device 16 does not have to connect wirelessly or communicatewith the central system 10 on a continuous basis, the mobile applicationallows a unique association to be made between the mobile wirelessdevice 16 and a system user 22 by the use of an account ID, the mobilewireless device 16 does not have to be hardwired to any other physicalsystem, but rather is associated to other physical systems via themobile application user information, the mobile application contains adatabase of geofences that reference GPS or triangulation coordinates,the mobile application monitors the GPS location of the mobile wirelessdevice 16 utilizing the devices onboard GPS system or by cell towertriangulation, the mobile application initiates a service request datatransmission to the central system once the mobile wireless deviceenters a geofence, by for example text, email, data, once channel openedup, the data transmission contents contain data that includes at aminimum account ID and geofence ID, the central service 10 receives themobile application data transmission and processes the service request,the central service contains reference information, for example vehiclerelated information discussed above, pertaining to the account ID andgeofence ID, the central service performs processing based on theaccount ID and geofence ID combination, the processing includes a reportor bypass decision followed by a compliance decision with a secondgeofence, the compliance decision may be based on how long the vehicletook to pass the weigh station or whether or not the vehicle took theweigh station ramp, for example if GPS accuracy is high enough, thecentral service 10 sends a service reply data transmission back to themobile wireless device 16 within processing type time-frame boundaries,the mobile wireless device 16 receives the service reply datatransmission from the central service, the mobile application processesthe service reply data and notifies user of service request result viaan interface on the mobile wireless device 16.

If used, GPS functionality need not reside onboard the mobile wirelessdevice 16, but may be hardwired or wirelessly connected to the mobilewireless device 16, enabling the mobile application to receive GPS datafrom the GPS unit. The mobile wireless device may be connected to otherlocal systems in close proximity by hardwire or wirelessly and may beconnected to vehicle engine or other systems of the vehicle for example.

The location of the mobile wireless device 16 may be monitored remotelyusing terrestrial geo location methods including cellular towertriangulation. The geofence database may reside on the central system 10or on a third party system. The Geofence IDs can be associated withdifferent service request categories, for example toll or bypass. TheGeofence database may be maintained and downloaded from the centralsystem 10 to the mobile application. The mobile application may uploadnew or modified geofence with IDs to the central service when promptedby the mobile wireless device or central service, for exampleperiodically (time based) or when a mobile wireless device changesjurisdictions. The user may choose to add geofence IDs to the centralservice either automatically or manually. Automated Geofencecreation/modification may be initiated by either the central service ormobile application. Manual Geofence creation/modification may beinitiated by either the central service or mobile application.

A geofence activation on the mobile application loaded on the mobilewireless device 16 may involve mobile application based pre-processingprior to service request data transmission. That is, upon the mobilewireless device 16 recognizing a geofence, the mobile wireless device 16acting through the mobile application looks up within the geofencedatabase to determine the type of geofence, and then the mobileapplication modifies the data sent according to the type of geofence.Thus, if the geofence defines a weigh station, data relevant to theweigh station operator may be sent. At compliance (for example inrelation to bypass), the mobile application may check what a vehicle didand compare with what it was supposed to do, so the mobile applicationmay check then send message to the central service 10.

Various options may be provided by the mobile application. The user 22may decide what types of processing requests to participate in. The user22 may decide what categories of user ID data elements and geofence IDtypes to initiate and include in service request data transmissions.This may be carried out the mobile application prompting the user 22 tomake a selection for a menu, and then the message content will bealtered according to the selection made.

Other alternatives include the following. Data transmission between themobile wireless device 16 and central service 10 may utilize digitaldata services or via SMS texting protocols for example. The user 22 mayaccess other non-location-based data request services via the mobileapplication. The central service 10 may manage user ID and Geofence IDdatabases autonomously including the non-uniform management of uniquemobile application database.

In the case of vehicle tolls, the geofence defines the toll area, and inone embodiment the account ID and geofence ID are communicated in thesame way based on the mobile wireless device 16 entering a toll area.The account ID may be used to trigger a payment on a stored credit ordebit card or other payment mechanism, or the communication from thedevice may include billing information for a credit card or otherpayment mechanism. The vehicle related information sent as part of adataset sent to the central system may include little more than thevehicle classification and license plate (from which a billingtransaction may be generated), or may include or consist of billinginformation. The manner of billing may be set by the third party serviceprovider. The third party service provider 24, in the case of a tollsystem, may use an enforcement system (VES) to detect a vehicle thatdoes pay a toll. The toll system 24 may check vehicle identificationinformation such as a license plate of a vehicle that does not pay atoll by capturing the license plate image with a camera. From thisdetermination, the toll system 24 may send a list of license plates forexample by a web service to the central system 10 for reconciliationalong with a bill. The central system 10 checks datasets sent by mobilewireless devices 16 against the list from the toll system 24 and cantake any of various actions such as charging the user of the mobilewireless device 16 and paying the toll service 24 based on the check.

In the case of a weigh station (FIGS. 6A and 6B), by-pass levels may bedetermined not only by traditional vehicle/carrier data elements, but bythe amount of additional information each trucker/carrier is willing toshare with law enforcement. Real-time bypass decisions for eachdriver/carrier approaching a weigh station are automatically provided toboth driver and scale house operator based on the results of thescreening criteria set by each weigh station.

The mobile application preferably allows for complete user-basedconfigurability, allowing drivers/carriers to decide what data elementsto share such as USDOT Number, License Plate Number, Vehicle VIN,Commercial Driver's License Number, GPS data, and electronic logs.Participating States or government agencies may have access to anyuser-authorized data for the purpose of electronically screening againstvehicle weight, SAFER, PRISM, CDLIS, and State Tax and PermittingSystems. The system may provide 100% transparency in the bypass process,in that the screening criteria and thresholds set by each agency areweighed against an individual's safety/credentials/privacy informationand published in real-time to the driver/carrier as a real-timepercentage bypass rate. Bypass rates for each jurisdiction may beavailable on the drivers interface and may be automatically updated whenany driver/carrier/privacy rules information is changed.

The system 10 may be a cloud based system that is accessed through asmartphone application operating for example on a mobile wireless devicesuch as iPhone, Blackberry, or Android based devices. Drivers mayregister, pay and access the Pre-Clearance functions from the smartphone application. In order to eliminate any negative associations withtracking and costly data usage, the system may be designed to run almostentirely in stand-alone mode on the mobile phone platform; requiringneither third party tracking or costly data usage to operateeffectively. The system may comprise a mobile-phone initiated preclearance transaction that is activated by location-linked operationsresiding entirely onboard the mobile wireless device. The mobilewireless device 16 itself need not be wired or permanently mounted tothe vehicle, though it may have a wireless connection to other onboardsystems via Bluetooth. The entire process may utilize less than 100bytes of data transmission, which carries virtually no cost at even themost limited cellular data plans.

In an embodiment in which the mobile wireless device 16, including itsmobile application, and the central system 10 provide a toll paymentmechanism, the mobile application has design considerations that departfrom traditional software interface designs because it is designed to beused primarily by drivers while they are operating a motor vehicle. Thisoperational constraint imposes sever limitations on traditional designelements of the application design.

For example, the mobile application may provide switch able paymentdefaults and one-touch auto-pay cancellation. The mobile applicationprocesses transactions based on pre-defined user preferences. The optionto change the default settings for transactions that occur when the useris driving a vehicle is unique. In a toll embodiment, the system isdesigned to cater to users who want an automated process to occur whilethe system 10 is processing a transaction and while the vehicle is inmotion. The challenge in certain toll configurations is that theautomated default transaction cannot be fixed and needs to meet theneeds of the user while driving. Some drivers whose requirement is for adefault payment process will need to have an application that supports adefault payment processing setting. This setting will automate paymenttransactions without the need for any user interaction with the mobileapplication interface. This setting mitigates the risk of driverdistraction while driving a vehicle and offers the cancellation of anautomated payment transaction with a single touch or swipe action on theuser interface. The development of a single auto-pay transactioncancellation is unique in software interface development wheretraditional one-touch payment authorizations require a default userinteraction with the application interface.

An embodiment of an auto-pay transaction cancellation is illustrated inFIG. 4. In method step 60, an automated transaction notification isinitiated by the user on a computing device such as a mobile wirelessdevice 16. The automated notification takes place from time to timewithout participation of a user based upon a rule. The computing deviceis set to carry out or not carry out the transaction according to adefault setting of the computing device. The default setting may be userchangeable or may be a fixed setting of the computing device accordingto the mobile application on the computing device. The rule may be timebased, for example a monthly payment, or may be triggered by an event,such as the mobile wireless device 16 entering a toll area. In a tollembodiment, the transaction is a toll payment triggered by proximity ofa mobile wireless device to a toll station. Proximity of the mobilewireless device to a toll station may be determined by a location systemonboard the mobile wireless device, such as a GPS system ortriangulation system. In step 62, the user is notified by the mobilewireless device about the transaction. Any suitable notification may beused, such as an audible, tangible (for example a vibration) or visiblenotification. When the user is notified of the transaction, the mobilewireless device enables a window within which the mobile wireless device16 is set to respond to a selected user input to the mobile wirelessdevice 16 to cause the default action not to occur. At steps 64 and 66,if the user responds with the selected user input within the window, theaction of the mobile wireless device is changed from the default. Thus,if the default is to carry out the transaction automatically, the userinput cancels the transaction. If the default is to not carry out thetransaction automatically, the user input allows the transaction to becarried out automatically. If the user does not respond, the mobilewireless device 16 acts in accordance with the default setting (step 68)and continues to monitor the next automated notification. Thecancellation may be a one time cancellation relating only to thespecific transaction that the user was notified of. The user input maybe a single input, such as a tap on a touch screen or the pressing ofany key or a specific key. In some embodiments, the device may be atethered computing device rather than a mobile wireless device.

Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the mobile wireless device may allow auser to set the default setting to manual pay of a toll or othertransaction. This setting is catered to infrequent users who do notutilize the automated transactions of the application as their defaultrequirement. Instead, these users prefer to manually authorize thepayment transaction and in this way, follow a traditional paymentauthorization action, but only in the event they chose to cancel theirdefault decision to not automatically process a payment transaction. Forexample, a user does not usually utilize a managed toll lane and travelsadjacent to said lane in a public lane that requires no toll payment.The user may set their payment default setting to manual pay, so that asthe vehicle approached the toll area the interface simply gives the usernotification of the opportunity to pay for the toll automatically usingthe application and provides a time limit for the user to cancel thedefault action of non-payment. In the event the user cancels thenon-payment with a manual touch of the screen, then an automatedelectronic payment will occur. User interaction with the interface inthis case was prompted by a cancelling of a default setting, and wouldtherefore require interaction with the user only in cases where theusers actions do not follow their standard selection.

The mobile wireless device 16 in the toll situation facilitatesfinancial payment services to toll road users via an onboard electronicsunit or application enabled device. The computing device may include acellular phone, smartphone, tablet, laptop, mobile computer or otherpurpose-built onboard electronics devices that supports the disclosedapplication.

In a further embodiment, the disclosed mobile application provides forthe unique asynchronous processing of toll payments between the tollroad operator and the central system 10. A user first registers with thecentral system, and an account is created with account holder vehicledata. The central service also obtains toll data from a third party tollservice provider. The user approaches a toll facility pay point and themobile application utilizes the location-based processing to determinethe toll facility being approached. The central system 10 (back office)is then utilized to access both account holder vehicle data and theparticipating toll agency cost tables. The central system 10 calculatesthe anticipated toll charge by comparing the vehicle classification onrecord with the central system 10 to the matching vehicle class providedin the toll cost table. An anticipated toll charge is then utilized todetermine the amount that will be deducted from the users account whenthe vehicle enters the toll area. The validation of the vehicle enteringthe toll area is conducted by tracking the GPS coordinates of the mobilewireless device utilizing the toll road. This step corresponds to step36 in FIG. 2 in which the mobile wireless device 16 monitors itslocation and creates and sends a dataset that contains vehicle locationdata. The vehicle location data may be coded to the toll station or maycomprise other forms of identifying the geographic area corresponding tothe toll station.

Asynchronously, the toll road agency (third party) detects the vehiclewith a mobile wireless device 16 entering the toll area but has no wayof determining whether the vehicle has a mobile application onboard tocarry out location enabled services disclosed here. The toll agency laneViolation Enforcement System (VES) then captures identifying informationon the vehicle passing into the toll road area so as to support theability to charge said vehicle with a toll amount after the fact.Violation enforcement systems for toll roads are conventional.Identifying information such as the vehicle license plate number iscollected for use in the payment collections process. Part of thisprocess includes the comparison of a violators license plate informationwith a list of license plates held in the toll agencies own databases.The license plate database of an agency may include license platenumbers of vehicles utilizing transponders or other payment agenciesthat utilize license plate numbers to register vehicles with a tollagency for the purposes of automating toll payments based on licenseplate numbers. In one embodiment, it is proposed that the toll agencylicense plate database will include a list of license plates associatedwith the operator of the central system 10. In this manner, the tollagency can determine which toll road charges should be sent to thecentral system 10 for payment and settlement. Thus the toll agency(third party provider) sends a dataset to the central system 10 thatincludes a list of license plate numbers. License plate numbers or otheridentifying information comprise a characteristic of the vehicle thathas passed through a toll station. This step corresponds to step 32 inFIG. 2.

After detection and sending of vehicle related data, the central systemreconciles the account corresponding to the vehicle by comparing thedataset received from the third party provider and the dataset receivedfrom the mobile wireless device 16. This step corresponds to step 40 inFIG. 2.

The central system 10 receives a toll charge for the mobile wirelessdevice 16 that has passed through the toll area and reconciles theactual toll charge with the charge anticipated by the toll event. In theevent that the charges do not match, the central system 10 will adjustthe account balance of the mobile wireless device 16 accordingly andsettle the transaction with the toll agency directly. In this design,two asynchronous toll events are reconciled by the central system 10.Thus, the action contemplated by step 42 of FIG. 2 may include making apayment on behalf of the user of the mobile wireless device 16,reconciling the user's account, delaying or aggregating payments, andother actions.

An advantage of the central system 10 is that the toll agency canutilize existing violation enforcement systems to support the tollpayments incurred by the mobile wireless devices 16 without having toinvest the capital required to support the mobile wireless devices 16communicating directly with toll road lane equipment. This asynchronousarchitecture support is believed to provide a unique solution to theutilization of GPS-enabled system for toll payment solutions.

The central system 10 allows users to access services such as tollpayments that require real-time or delayed financial payments. Thechallenge with financial payments involves the managing of transactioncosts. Transaction costs include credit/debit/charge cardtransaction-related costs borne directly by the user or vendor.Transaction costs negatively impact the operation of the central system10 since users may be reluctant to forego transaction costs for each andevery toll payment transaction. Instead, the central system 10 may use apre-paid account model similar to those utilized currently by tollroads. A user deposits funds into an account managed by the centralsystem 10. Independent toll charges can be deducted from the accountwithout incurring additional transactions costs beyond the pre-payamount. The central system 10 may provide an additional payment processthat handles how and when actual payments are processed through a user'saccount to minimize transaction fees beyond that supported by thetraditional prepay model. An example of this would be a user whoseprepaid account balance falls below some threshold level or the amountrequired to pay a real-time toll transaction. A traditional system wouldnotify the driver of the low-balance by a variety of real-time ornon-real time methods, and may even support automated payment based onthe payment guarantee held on account by the toll agency. The centralsystem 10 need not automatically process the payment transaction, butrather may process a payment pre-authorization and monitor the account'sactivities over the allowed pre-authorization settlement window. Ifadditional toll charge events occur, the central system 10 may continueto process pre-authorizations, but need not process the more expensivepayment transaction until necessary. With this method, a paymenttransaction is processed only when required and may cover multiplepre-authorizations at once, thereby minimizing transaction costs for theend user.

The central system 10 may provide value added services by creating dataassociation links between the application data and data collected by aremote sensor. An example is a weigh station bypass application wherethe vehicle contains a computing device such as a mobile wireless device16 that contains a mobile application that includes instructions forcarrying out the method steps disclosed in this patent document. Thecomputing device may or may not actually be physically wired to thevehicle, but the vehicle information is included in the data filesbelonging to the user profile logged into the mobile application that isrunning on the device. The vehicle data may or may not actually resideon the computing device, but may be stored remotely in one or moreservers (which may be located anywhere) accessed by the central system10. The actual storage location of user profile data is not critical tothis process. When the vehicle approaches a weigh station, a mobileapplication on the computing device uses user profile information toactivate a bypass request sent via the central server 10 to local lawenforcement. The user profile may contain information on the vehicle,the driver and the carrier to support the bypass request process. Themobile wireless device 16 carried by the vehicle follows the methodsteps 30 and 36 of FIG. 2 to activate the bypass request. The datasetsent by the mobile wireless device 16 to the central service 10 containsuser profile information.

There is also a value-added service to including remote sensor data inthe user profile data set. For example, if a vehicle travels over aweigh-in-motion (WIM) system 70 installed in a roadway 72 (FIG. 5), thatsystem collects the weight of the vehicle as it passes over the WIMsensor. This steps corresponds to part of step 32 in FIG. 2. Use of thecentral service 10 allows the data collected from the WIM sensor 70located on the roadside 72 to be associated with the vehicle data in theuser profile dataset. This is not an easy task as these are independentsystems and roadside sensor systems are not usually designed to besynchronized to outside information systems. The historical developmentof roadside sensors systems as stand-alone systems means mostconfigurations do not communicate with third party systems, let alone ina real-time synchronised fashion. This makes sense as these systems weremainly designed as data collection systems, where data is collected fromthe sensor and stored locally for future retrieval. Over time, thesestand-alone systems have been enabled with remote data access whichallows user to access the local data stores remotely through a datacommunication link. Some systems accommodate automated remote datareporting following a batched or real-time data push paradigm, but notwith any design to synchronize the data to passing on-board vehiclesystems. A category of weigh-in-motion systems are also used as part ofintegrated vehicle screening systems. In the case of integratedscreening system, the local inroad sensor systems are often integratedwith other roadside sensors, including cameras or dimensioning typesystems 74 to support automated vehicle screening applications. Morerecent developments in automated vehicle screening systems have finallysucceeded with providing a link between roadside sensors 70 and onboardvehicle systems. Dedicated short range communication systems utilizedirect radio communications to support the integration of roadsidesensor with vehicle onboard systems utilizing the installation ofdedication radio communication equipment both at the roadside andonboard the passing vehicle. This technology whoever has had limitedsuccess because of the costs associated with the purchase, installationand maintenance of the DSRC systems at the roadside. Despite the costs,DSRC roadside equipment and vehicle-mounted DSRC transponders are usedthroughout the world in electronic tolling applications and automatedvehicle screening systems.

Thus, an example of this application in the vehicle screeningapplication includes the following process. A vehicle with an onboardRFID system and mobile application with geofence capability approachesan inroad sensor location 70. The primary roadside sensor is a weigh inmotion system and it is integrated with a roadside DSRC radiotransceiver. Weigh in motion systems are conventional. As the vehiclepasses over the WIM sensor 70, the vehicle onboard RFID transceiverestablished a direct communicate link with the roadside DSRCtransceiver. The roadside controller software associates the vehicleDSRC data with the roadside WIM data. This data is utilized in anelectronic screening process to determine if the vehicle should reportto an inspection facility or granted a bypass. In order to communicatethe screening outcome back to the onboard vehicle system, the roadsidecontroller software re-utilizes the roadside DSRC communication link tothe onboard DSRC transceiver. Since the roadside controller softwarerequires time to complete its processing, the screening process resultmay be transmitted from the roadside back to the onboard DSRCtransceiver at a different location from the initial communication. Thisdownstream location requires the installation of another roadside DSRCtransceiver to send the screening results to the onboard DSRCtransceiver. Newer 5.9 Ghz DSRC radio communication ranges can eliminatethe need for multiple roadside DSRC sites to complete a screening eventby utilizing a single long range DSRC transceiver site to complete allthe communication needs between roadside and onboard systems. Despiteadvances in DSRC technology to limit the amount of roadsideinfrastructure to support roadside-to-vehicle data associations, theinfrastructure costs remain significant and the primary challenge to anywide deployment of the technology outside the relatively high-valueapplications of tolling and weigh station bypass.

The central system 10 overcomes the challenge of roadside to onboarddata association by eliminating the need for direct communication linksbetween the roadside sensor systems and onboard vehicle systems 16. Thisis accomplished through several newly developed methods outlined below:

Time synchronization: The local roadside sensor is retro-fitted with aremote data output link. This data link has access to a third party timeserver such as the universal time server. A data association softwareprocessor takes inroad sensor data and associates it with a UTC timestamp. Independently, the vehicle 22 is outfitted with an onboardcomputing device such as mobile wireless device 16 running a mobileapplication as taught in this disclosure. The mobile wireless device 16begins its own UTC time synchronization process. Referring to FIG. 5, asthe vehicle 22 approaches the roadside sensor 70 located at a fixed andknown GPS coordinate, the mobile application is triggered by the mobilewireless device's reported GPS location coordinates and beginsassociating the device's GPS location coordinates to UTC time stamps.Both the roadside sensor data with a fixed GPS location and theGPS-tagged onboard system data are associated with a UTC time stampseries. This step corresponds to step 40 in FIG. 2.

The linking of the roadside sensor 70 and the onboard sensors 16 to ashared third party UTC time series enables the central system 10 toutilize simplified algorithms to associate the data output of theroadside system to the vehicle data of the onboard system without everestablishing a direct communication link between the two systems. Theremote sensor data association process determines the specific UTC timethat the mobile wireless device 16 (and hence vehicle) travelled over afixed roadside sensor 70 by searching the GPS data log for the exacttime that the vehicle crossed over the known fixed GPS location of theroadside sensor system. Once the exact time is calculated, then the datalogs from the remote data sensor are searched for data outputs producedat the same UTC-stamped time. The data produced from the roadside sensoris then associated with the data on the vehicle onboard system forscreening or tolling applications. The screening and tollingapplications comprise taking an action according to step 42 in FIG. 2.The successful association of roadside sensor data to onboard vehiclesystem data is accomplished without the need for any directcommunication link between the two system and hence without the need forinvestment in a costly infrastructure to support DSRC communications.

Methods are also provided to reduce or eliminate the possibility ofincorrect data associations being produced by multiple vehiclestravelling within the GPS accuracy limits. Examples of this include avehicle travelling closely behind another vehicle. The data associationprocess preferably scrutinizes the data output of the roadside sensor todetermine vehicle spacing and whether it falls outside acceptableparameters required to match with confidence. This takes intoconsideration the reported GPS accuracy of the onboard system device. Inthe event that a single onboard system cannot be confidently matched toa single roadside sensor data output event, then the remote data sensorprocess will flag the data association with a low confidence rating.

Another example is a vehicle present in adjacent lane: If the GPSaccuracy of the onboard device cannot distinguish position betweenadjacent lanes (for example on a multiple lane roadway 72), then UTCtime synchronisation technique does not address the possibility of theremote data association erroneously associating roadside sensor datafrom another vehicle to the vehicle data associated with the onboarddevice 16. This may occur when the vehicle 22 is travelling in anadjacent lane to the lane that contains the roadside sensors 70, whileanother vehicle (may or may not be another vehicle carrying a mobilewireless device 16) travels beside it in the sensorized lane. Theroadside sensor data produced at the time the mobile wireless device 16crosses the lateral placement of the roadside sensor 70 is not actuallyproduced by the vehicle containing the onboard unit. Instead it would bedata produced by the vehicle travelling alongside the vehicle with themobile wireless device 16 and intersecting the roadside sensor locationat the same time, but in the sensorized lane. In this event, the remotedata association process will include methodologies to eliminate thistype of mis-association error.

Adjacent lane sensorization: data association algorithms may allow inputfrom adjacent lane sensors 82 that will detect the presence of anothervehicle in the adjacent lane at the time of the remote data acquisition.Vehicle classifiers, loop traps, vehicle detectors are some of the typesof sensors that can be used. The data association process includesadjacent lane sensor data to determine if a potential datamis-association exists. There may be multiple lanes of sensors, so thatthe roadside sensor integration is to a combination of roadside sensorsthat support the process of recording the data produced by one instanceof a vehicle event and associating it to that same vehicle's data in thecentral processing system. For example, there may be four lanes oftraffic, two WIMs and two classification loops. The central system 10may monitor all of the sensors to try to determine that the vehiclerelated information from the sensors that is received by the centralsystem 10 belongs to the vehicle with the mobile wireless device 16.

In an alternative embodiment, instead of UTC synchronization or inaddition to UTC time synchronization, an additional roadside sensor 84may be provided that supports a unique identification of the vehicle 22carrying a mobile wireless device 16. This can be an automated licenceplate recognition system or radio transceiver system using protocolslike Bluetooth, WIFI, or WIMAX standards. With this method, the roadsidedataset includes the vehicle identification data and the remote dataprocess includes a matching algorithm with the onboard vehicle dataset(for example stored license plate number or onboard device WIFIidentification).

Instead of replicating the costly nature of deploying expensive DSRCequipment, this method exploits the capability of smart mobile wirelessdevices 16. The location-based services activate the onboard wirelesstransceiver as it approaches a roadside sensor 70. The consumer wirelessdevices are not designed for DSRC communications between a fixed sightand a moving vehicle. The time required for the radio signals to supporta data packet exchange and communication handshake exceeds the timewindow provided by the onboard units signal strength. To address thislimitation, the digital handshake layer may be eliminated and theroadside transceiver only need operates to detect the presence of aunique radio signal identification and log its signal strength as itpasses by the roadside transceiver. No direct communication between theonboard transceiver and the roadside transceiver occurs. The detectionof one unit's emitted radio signal by the other unit and the logging ofthe received signal strength as one device passes by the other is allthat is required to support augmented remote data association processingwith a unique identifier. In this case the data association matchingalgorithm is augmented to account for the onboard device unique IDpresent in the radio transmission. The software searches for the peaksignal strength to determine when the onboard device was closest to theroadside transceiver. It then uses the UTC time match to that signalstrength peek to match data collected at the same UTC time from otherroadside sensors. The elimination of a direct communication layerbetween a roadside radio transceiver and the onboard radio transceiver,and utilizing only the base signal detection layer, also eliminates theneed for specialized purpose-built DSRC equipment on the roadside andonboard the vehicle. This dramatically lowers the cost of this solution.For example, if the mobile wireless device 16 is a consumer smartphonewith WIFI transceiver and the roadside wireless transceiver is aconsumer grade wireless WIFI router, then the broadcast unique ID fromthe smartphone can be detected and its signal strength logged as itpasses by the roadside device. The need for a purpose-built DSRCtransponder (like those used in toll road applications) andpurpose-built roadside radio transceiver, powerful enough to both detectand establish communications with a passing DSRC onboard device, iseliminated.

This augmented remote data association technique provides higherconfidence in the data matching algorithm as vehicle location is betterknown than in the case of a low-accuracy GPS-only based location schemewhere the location of the vehicle with the mobile wireless device islimited to the GPS accuracy of the mobile wireless device. With improvedaccuracy, the remote data association process may be used to supportintegration with other roadside devices such as gates, traffic signals,message boards, etc. An example of this would be a vehicle outfittedwith a mobile wireless device 16 pulls up to a gated toll booth, and theremote data association process is used to signal the gate 100 (FIG. 6B)to lift when needed for the vehicle to proceed. The lifting of a gate isa further example of an action in method step 42 of FIG. 2. the centralsystem 10 may activate a toll gate or other roadside equipment.

An advantage of the location-based transaction system for toll roadpayments is the ability to support toll road payments without the needfor any direct integration to existing roadside equipment. In the caseof toll roads, toll payment using the central system 10 occursindependently from communications, billing and payment transactions withthe toll road operator. The location-based transaction occurs betweenthe mobile wireless device 16 and the central service 10. The paymentamount is approximated with back office access to existing toll ratesand collected as the vehicle utilizes the toll area. The toll roadoperator's vehicle enforcement system (VES) detects a vehicle 22 passingatoll service with equipment like an automated license plate recognitionsystem. The toll road operator VES system may not be integrated inreal-time with the central system 10 and needs no input signal toidentify the vehicle as being registered with the central system 10 orthat the central system 10 service has already collected payment fromthe account holder. The VES system independently identifies the vehicleand the vehicle data is sent to the toll operation back office systemfor billing. Prior to an invoice being sent to the registered owner ofthe vehicle (via license plate registration), the toll operator backoffice runs the license plate data against the registered accountsdatabase. This is done to eliminate the possibility of violation (tollcharge plus additional fees, printing and mailing costs) being sent toan existing, registered and funded account holder on account of afailure of that account holders DSRC transponder not communicatingsuccessfully with the toll operators roadside DSRC transceiver. If thelicense plate number for a vehicle collected from the VES system matchesthe license plate number of a valid registered customer, the toll chargeis automatically deducted from the account holder's balance and theviolation processing is terminated. It is through this automated processof running VES collected license plates against registered accountholder databases, that the central system 10 can provide toll paymentservices without the integration of roadside DSRC or VES systems. Thecentral system 10 service provides the toll agency with a list of allits registered account holders and their license plate numbers. When avehicle with a mobile wireless device 16 approaches a toll gantry, themobile application may instruct the driver to utilize the freeflowelectronic payment lanes. The VES system detects the absence of a DSRCtransponder and collects the license plate of the vehicle 22 forviolation processing. The violation processing checks the license plateagainst the toll operators registered client list and finds the licenseplate is registered under the central system 10 account. The violationis reverted back into standard electronic billing processes and thecentral system 10 is sent the toll charge for payment. The centralsystem 10 system reconciles the actual toll operator charge for the tollevent against the toll charge approximated with the location-basedtransaction event. In this method, the central system 10 facilitatesautomated toll payment transactions, without ever integrating the systemto existing roadside systems in real-time.

While this is an advantage for open-road tolling applications and tollroad operations with electronic payment freeflow lanes, it does notprovide a solution to gated toll operations. Gated toll operations thatutilize electronic payment systems utilize DSRC communication systems tocontrol gates. Vehicles outfitted with DSRC transponders pull up to atoll gate and the onboard DSRC unit communicates with a roadside DSRCtransceiver. The lane controller validates the transponder accountnumber and if valid, lifts the gate for the vehicle to proceed. Unlessthe mobile wireless device 16 can also communicate with a tolloperation's roadside lane controllers, the service will not work atgated toll operations. Since toll road DSRC systems are proprietary andthere is no industry-wide communication protocol, another method isrequired to communicate with a lane controller.

An innovation is the use of the location-based transaction to generate aunique identification code or bar code on the mobile wireless device 16as the vehicle 22 approaches a toll gate. The driver of the vehicle canthen enter this identification code manually or via bar code into anelectronic device co-located with the gate equipment. This code would beutilized by the lane controller to validate an account and open thegate. This method requires the installation of roadside equipment toaccept the unique code input and requires integration of this equipmentwith the lane controller. However, this equipment is less expensive thanDSRC equipment and provides toll operators with another automatedpayment mechanism.

Various methods of vehicle traffic control may use a central processingsystem 10 connected to a telecommunications network, by a mobilewireless 16 accessing, for example through a web service, the centralsystem 10. The accessing includes the central system 10 receiving afirst dataset from the mobile wireless device 16 upon the mobilewireless device 16 entering a pre-defined geographic area. The centralsystem 10 then compares at least a portion of the first dataset with asecond dataset from a third party provider and taking one or moreactions based on the associating step. Besides the toll station andweigh station examples described above the dataset from the third partyprovider may comprise information on parking in a location near to thegeofence, or a traffic related problem, such as traffic congestion, oran emergency, such as the presence of bad weather or hazards (forexample an accident, road damage or bridge out). The action may thencomprise a suitable notification or warning to the mobile wirelessdevice that is visible, audible or tangible to the user, followed by theuser taking some action, such as parking the vehicle, or taking evasiveaction. In the case of parking, the central service 10 may also secure areservation of a parking spot by communication with a third partyparking provider and send a notification of the reservation to themobile wireless device 16. The notification may include a reservationcode. In this case, the reservation comprises parking relatedinformation and taking an action comprises forwarding parking directionsincluding the reservation code to the mobile wireless device. The actionmay also comprise the vehicle following the parking directions.

Taking an action may comprise associating datasets from the mobilewireless device and from a third party provider, as for example in aweigh station application associating the weight of a vehicle with thecorresponding dataset produced by the mobile wireless device when thevehicle passed over a WIM sensor.

A central system 10 may be configured, for example by use of a softwareapplication running on one or more servers (including in the cloud) tocarry out any one or more of the several applications disclosedincluding the weigh station, toll station, parking and traffic relatedproblem notification. The central system 10 may include modules relatedto each application. Upon the mobile wireless device 16 entering ageofence associated with a specific one of the applications, the centralprocessing system 10 may determine from the geofence which applicationis to be used and then select the corresponding application. Thus, ifthe geofence corresponds to a weigh station, for example as shown inFIG. 6A or 6B, the central system 10 may automatically determine whichmodule to use from the geofence code sent from the weigh station. If thegeofence ID is associated with both a weigh station and toll station,then both modules may be activated. The mobile wireless device 16 isalso configured by running a location services application on the mobilewireless device 16 for carrying out the disclosed steps.

1. A method of vehicle traffic control using a central processing systemconnected to a telecommunications network, the method comprising:receiving a first dataset from a mobile wireless device upon the mobilewireless device entering a pre-defined geographic area; comparing atleast a portion of the first dataset with a second dataset from a thirdparty provider; and taking one or more actions based on the comparingstep.
 2. The method of claim 1 in which the first dataset compriseslocation data obtained by monitoring location of the mobile wirelessdevice and vehicle related information.
 3. The method of claim 2 inwhich receiving the first dataset comprises downloading from the mobilewireless device to the central processing system the first datasetcontaining the location data and vehicle related information through aweb service.
 4. The method of claim 2 or 3 in which the mobile wirelessdevice is carried by a vehicle, the location data comprises vehiclelocation data and the second dataset comprises rule based data relatedto the movement of vehicles along roads.
 5. The method of claim 4 inwhich the second dataset is obtained by the central processing systemdownloading from the third party provider to the central processingsystem using a web service a second file containing the second dataset.6. The method of claim 4 or 5 in which: the second dataset comprisestoll information; the vehicle location data specifies the presence ofthe vehicle at a toll location; and taking one or more actions includesinitiating a toll payment to a toll service provider.
 7. The method ofclaim 6 in which the toll service provider is the third party provider.8. The method of claim 6 or 7 further comprising: the central processingsystem using the vehicle location data to estimate a toll charge relatedto the presence of the vehicle at the toll location; and deducting thetoll charge from an account related to the mobile wireless device. 9.The method of claim 8 in which taking one or more actions comprisesassociating the toll charge to the toll payment and adjusting the usersaccount when the toll charge differs from the toll payment.
 10. Themethod of claim 4 or 5 in which: the second dataset comprises safetyrules; the vehicle location data specifies the presence of the vehicleat a vehicle inspection site; and taking one or more actions includessending a signal to the mobile wireless device indicative of whether thevehicle is permitted to bypass the vehicle inspection site.
 11. Themethod of claim 10 in which taking one or more actions comprises sendinga notification to a law enforcement service.
 12. The method of claim 10in which taking one or more actions comprises initiating a toll payment.13. The method of claim 1 further comprising uploading to the mobilewireless device a set of instructions for: periodically obtaining alocation of the mobile wireless device; and comparing the location to aset of stored geographic areas.
 14. The method of claim 13 in which themobile wireless device is carried by a vehicle, and the set ofinstructions includes instructions for communicating vehicle relatedinformation to the central processing system.
 15. The method of claim 4or 5 in which: the vehicle location data specifies the presence of thevehicle at a roadside sensor location; the second dataset includes dataproduced by one or more sensors at the roadside sensor location; andtaking one or more actions includes recording an association between thevehicle and the data produced by the one or more sensors at the roadsidesensor location.
 16. The method of claim 15 in which the one or moresensors at the roadside sensor location produce data concerning vehiclesin a first lane, and one or more additional sensors detect vehicles in asecond lane at the roadside sensor location, and the association betweenthe vehicle and the data produced by the one or more sensors at theroadside sensor location is recorded depending on the lack of detectionof a vehicle in the second lane by the one or more additional sensors.17. The method of claim 15 in which: the one or more sensors at theroadside sensor location produce data concerning vehicles in a firstlane; the mobile wireless device produces a radio identification signal;one or more additional sensors detect the radio identification signaland record the strength of the radio identification signal; and theassociation between the vehicle and the set of data produced by the oneor more sensors at the roadside sensor location is recorded depending atleast in part on the record of the strength of the radio identificationsignal.
 18. The method of claim 4 or 5 in which: the mobile wirelessdevice produces a radio identification signal; the second datasetcomprises data concerning detection of and the strength of the radioidentification signal at a receiver at a toll location; the vehiclelocation data specifies the presence of the vehicle at the tolllocation; and taking one or more actions includes initiating a tollpayment to a toll service provider.
 19. The method of claim 4 or 5 inwhich: the mobile wireless device produces a radio identificationsignal; the second dataset comprises data concerning detection of andthe strength of the radio identification signal at a receiver at atolllocation; the vehicle location data specifies the presence of thevehicle at the toll location; and taking one or more actions includesopening a toll gate.
 20. The method of claim 1 in which the seconddataset comprises parking related information and taking an actioncomprises forwarding parking directions to the mobile wireless device.21. The method of claim 1 in which the second dataset comprisesinformation on a traffic related problem and taking an action comprisessending traffic related information to the mobile wireless device.
 22. Amethod of vehicle traffic control using a central processing systemconnected to a telecommunications network, the method comprising:receiving from a mobile wireless device, upon the mobile wireless deviceentering a geographic area, location data obtained by monitoring thelocation of the mobile wireless device; generating an ID code andsending it to the mobile wireless device; receiving, at an electronicdevice located at a toll gate, the generated ID code; and in response toreceiving the generated ID code at the electronic device, opening thetoll gate.
 23. The method of claim 22 further comprising the centralprocessing system initiating a toll payment to a toll payment serviceprovider when the ID code is generated.
 24. The method of claim 22further comprising the central processing system receiving confirmationthat the generated ID code was received at the electronic device andinitiating a toll payment to a toll payment service provider uponreceiving confirmation that the generated ID code was received at theelectronic device.
 25. A method of vehicle movement control, comprising:while a mobile wireless devices being carried in a moving vehicle,periodically obtaining a location of the mobile wireless device;comparing the location to a set of stored geographic areas; when thelocation of the mobile wireless device is within any one of the set ofgeographic areas, communicating vehicle related information and vehiclelocation information to a central processing system; receiving at themobile wireless device a message from the central processing system; andtaking an action based on the message.
 26. The method of claim 25 inwhich obtaining a location comprises utilizing a GPS receiver onboardthe mobile wireless device.
 27. The method of claim 25 in which thecentral processing system comprises a vehicle screening system fordetermining whether the vehicle should stop at a vehicle inspection siteand the geographic areas are areas around vehicle inspection sites. 28.The method of claim 27 in which the stored vehicle related informationcomprises one or more of USDOT Number, License Plate Number, VehicleVIN, Commercial Driver's License Number, GPS data, and electronic logs.29. The method of claim 28 in which the mobile wireless device comprisesa computing system installed in a vehicle.
 30. The method of any one ofclaims 27-29 in which communicating vehicle related information to thecentral processing system comprises forwarding a bypass request.
 31. Themethod of claim 30 further comprising the message sent by the centralprocessing system being a bypass message.
 32. The method of claim 31 inwhich taking an action comprises the vehicle bypassing a vehicleinspection site.
 33. The method of claim 31 in which the bypass messageis a message not to bypass the weight station and further comprisingmonitoring compliance with the bypass message.
 34. The method of claim25 in which the geographic areas comprise toll locations and the actioncomprises the mobile wireless device sending a toll cancel or paymentrequest to the central processing system.
 35. The method of claim 34 inwhich the toll cancel or payment request is activated by a single touchon the mobile wireless device.
 36. The method of claim 25 in which themessage from the central processing system is indicative of a change ofjurisdiction, and taking an action comprises updating stored data at themobile wireless device.
 37. The method of claim 36 in which updatingcomprises updating the geographic areas.
 38. The method of claim 25 inwhich taking an action comprises sending a request to a third partyprovider.
 39. The method of claim 38 in which the third party provideris a vehicle inspection site operator.
 40. The method of claim 39 inwhich the request is a bypass request.
 41. The method of claim 25 inwhich the message comprises parking related information and taking anaction comprises parking the vehicle.
 42. The method of claim 25 inwhich the message comprises information on a traffic related problem.43. A method of vehicle movement control, comprising: while a mobilewireless device is being carried in a moving vehicle, periodicallyobtaining a location of the mobile wireless device; comparing thelocation to a set of stored geographic areas; and when the location ofthe mobile wireless device is approaching any one of the set ofgeographic areas, generating a warning signal for a user of the vehicle.44. The method of claim 43 in which the geographic areas are areasaround vehicle inspection sites.
 45. A method of controlling atransaction related process, the method comprising: initiating automatednotification of a transaction, where the automated notification takesplace from time to time without participation of a user based upon arule; using a computing device to send a transaction notification to theuser when the rule is activated, the computing device being set to carryout or not carry out the transaction according to a default setting ofthe computing device; and enabling the computing device to change thedefault setting upon a user input to the computing device.
 46. Themethod of claim 45 in which the computing device is a mobile wirelessdevice.
 47. The method of claim 45 or 46 in which the user input is asingle user input.
 48. The method of claim 45, 46 or 47 in which thedefault setting of the device is to carry out the transaction.
 49. Themethod of claim 45, 46 or 47 in which the default setting of the deviceis to not carry out the transaction.
 50. The method of claim 46, 47, 48or 49 in which the transaction is a toll payment triggered by proximityof the mobile wireless device to a toll station.
 51. The method of claim50 in which proximity of the mobile wireless device to a toll station isdetermined by a location system onboard the mobile wireless device. 52.A central processing system for connecting to a telecommunicationsnetwork, the telecommunications network also capable of being connectedto at least a mobile device, the at least a mobile device beingconfigurable to transmit to the central processing system, upon themobile device entering a pre-defined geographic area, a first dataset;the central processing system comprising: a server connected to thetelecommunications network to receive the first dataset from the mobiledevice and a second dataset from a third party provider; and the centralprocessing system being configured to carry out the method steps of anyone of claims 1-21.
 53. A central processing system for connecting to atelecommunications network, the telecommunications network also capableof being connected to at least a mobile device, the at least a mobiledevice being configurable to transmit to the central processing system,upon the mobile wireless device entering a geographic area, locationdata obtained by monitoring the location of the mobile wireless device,and there also being an electronic device located at a toll gate, theelectronic device configured to receive an ID code generated by thecentral processing system; the central processing system beingconfigured to carry out the steps of any one of claims 22-24.
 54. Amobile wireless device for being carried in a moving vehicle andcommunicating with a central processing system, the mobile wirelessdevice having a set of stored geographic areas, the mobile wirelessdevice being configured to carry out the method steps of any one ofclaims 25-42.
 55. A mobile wireless device for being carried in a movingvehicle, the mobile wireless device having a set of stored geographicareas, the mobile wireless device being configured to carry out themethod steps of any one of claims 43-44.
 56. A central processing systemfor connecting to a computing device, the central processing systembeing configured to carry out the method steps of any one of claims45-51.